The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-02-02
MR., IKE AS A PHILOSOPHER
he DISCUSSES THE SUBJECT OF NEED
IN ITS VARIOUS PHASES.
Religion. Politics, Finances, Help
and Many Other Matters Receive
His Attention. and Upon Which
Hc Gives Words OF Wisdom.

Editor Press and Banner:
! You will please take the chair while Mr.. lk q
delivers a few remarks on the great necessity
| of the times, and hope he Will he Orlei, con-
! fine himself to the facts In the case, speak lhe
! truth, not mention Cousin Sallle Dillnfd, anu
ouiS when Ire is through. What Is the great
need of the times? and what Is the remedy ?
are knotty questions, and yet many thrrc oe
That are ready 20 answer them, ana nut 1ew oi
the answers will be correct. innuineraDle
clubs were orgauizc to discuss and III l'uminaic G
these questions. hui alas they are numbered
among the thin"S that were, no two q! thehi
could agree on the same cause, or Polht oh.
She same remedy, and they have departed
leaving this club al one to face TINS mysterious
monster. that is 50 hard to distinguish ana al
most impossible to vanquish, a rrrl'anle rhe- r
nix, thai will not down. q substance that you
cannot distinguish from its shadow, great
"nd bcsetting misfortune Is beia'iing us, Il
threatening calamity is paralyZln@ us, now
lust Tor fun we will give ~ few or the Solutlt ms
of this sphinx like riddle. Some think 1t Is the
seasons which are either too hot. too coid, Zoo
wet. or too dry. and each OF these cnnuill"ns
of the seasons are blamed so it can not ne at
tributed to either, rs we have every variety OF
| them.
Some thiak the fault is in the kind Of ,peo.
pie we have. but u cannot be since we nnre o
every variety of them. Some think II is mo-
ney we need, and they are wrong, Tor thcrc Is
more money In the country than mule can
p1l down n IN carr bov ON wishes ice St for thou
sands of money. Mr.. Ike frequently mag
ines If he had millions how happy and bless
ed the country would he, and especially nlm-
self, yet when he gets hold of nickle he does
not properly apply it. If he and the rest had
wisely invested the few nickles that Game IN,
to their possession they would be well on SUN
they think they are the proper persons 10 nan
die millions. though they are mistaken: A
very few dollars make great many oi us
very ridiculous and if We had few thousand
dollars our pompoSity and rerhosltE Wnuio
be anendur;,bie. SO the dispenser very wisely
withholds what he sees would make us as RI
diculouS as q mule with red striped brcpchcs
We think ii q great misfortune to be poor
but the world could not get along Wltnout
poor people. While rich PEOPLE are nf little or
no use whatever, either in war or peace, u rs
the poor pcoplc that run the machinery OF tne
world. Take all the poor people ont OF the ne
country and the rich people. would not nc
worth ihe ammunition it would taSe TO Kill
them. They are the slaves to guard the money
that is utterly worthless unless IL is lor the
the right kind of lab0rers ami could properly
control them. especially the negroes, we
would be happy and prosperous anu nave
nothing to do but say go, and do' ana our o,a, ro
ding wauid be done, though our lahorerS are
worthy of their hire, and If paid Will perform.
So the fault is not in them. Others mink we
need legislation, thou: h that cannot he SINCE
protect and guide US in the paths of prosperi-
ty and happiness, and to shield us rom
wrong-and it takes car Of hooks to contain
the laws of each kind, there is not q vice nor
q virtue in the category that has not hern pro
hihiicd by some law or other, anu there is
nothing good or mean for which our lawyers
canno! find law To encourage or 10 excuse; II
matters not what a plaintiff or defendant
may do or be guilty of good ana true law
yer can find law TO justify II.
Many people seem to think the fault is In
The religion of the day, and they are not so
fault cannot be in religion, and %h,ie ms
club claims to possess very little OF III, lnerG Is
undoubtedly stream of pure religion thal
has descended from the creation down to the
present day, and while 1t cannot inculcatc
any Improper thought or deed, many that
claim to have been rcgcncratcd and washed
in the stream are far from clean. .
SUme clam IT, is want Of knowledgc thlt
Is injurng us, but if We would only do as well
as we know how to do the jails would soon he
empty and the lawyers starved. knowlcdGe
was the forbidden fruit. that our grand mo,h'
CT eat 200 much of aud made the whoie hu-
man race sick, and they are not over u yel;;
II would be blessing indeed, II we could
only answer ali our misdeedS by the plea that
we did not know better. II IS too thin; we are
all smart EllickS and know how To run the
universe better than the great archltcct ths't
planned. created and nut 1t IN motion, ,o, or
the times Is advice, and hence we are dc!uSeu
with It day after day. every body giving IL
freely and no body ing it. Every preacher
not 90 exactly Strai" in the narrow path OF
recttude himself. Lawyers frequently suggest
how the mercantile business Shonh bc car
ried on, or the banking business Gner.tem. ,,.
to seed In their own profession. MOST edltorS
can tell the farmers what to plant, when 10
plant and how 10 plant. AMI yet leave some
things out of their papers that shou DC
known, and put many things In mat nau
been better left out. Nearly any FARMER can
toll what the minister should preach, and
what the merchant should sell while the grass
j. getting away with his new ground corn
In fine everybody. including Mr. Ike, thlnkS
he underst indS every body clS"s business
better than they do themselves, and can tell
the reason they fail while hr can not sec, anu
will! not look for the cause { { his own failure;
tie seems tn think he has the cll acity, ana
ability, to manage for every une else while
his own calling and business is ohlitcra'cd NV
neglc, [. Every one seems to think he was crc-
atcd for Il higher ard NOR ""nprrhrnSlvc
sphere than the one he fills. Wea are eirrnallS
stumble over every obstacle nra" "nr path or
fall in ve-y ditch that cross S IT, Our own
ShrtwdncsS and capability shine nke electric
lights in our own eyes while our defects are
Invisible 10 us. and do not seem to exist ana
if we could only get things 10 work our way
and by our directions there would he no use
Of q heaven or necessity Of the other place
After looking over all these inconsruiticS.
the club has come to the conclusion the great
need of the hour is forcvery man, woman ana
chilli attend tO his or her own special DuSl-
less, and the remedy is To let other people at
tend to their own special business, and each
will have plenty to dIA 1t is impossible for
any one man to fill every position. ana no one
need he unemployed If he properly attends 10
his own calling. and let others have the op-
rortunity of doing the same thing. And may
the good master help them and us 10 do 1t.
Yours truly. MIR. IKE.
who is Responsible?
Neubcyru Nrrs and Herald.